


Live for Me

by 88KeysOfSadism



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, This made me cry while I wrote it, i'm a bad person, jaydick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 21:31:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3624975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/88KeysOfSadism/pseuds/88KeysOfSadism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"R-remember how you said that I-I was worth dying for? Th-that you'd die for me?... I need you to live for me now, yeah?..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Live for Me

_"Jason!?" Scorched earth passes under the vigilante's feet as he races back towards the burning remains of the building, secret identities be damned. "Jason!?"_

_A quiet cough on his left alerts him to the presence of a survivor, and he stumbles over the debris towards the noise, praying that this isn't another nearly dead civilian._

_He gets what he asked for. It's Jason, shards of what used to be a red helmet sticking out of his skull, missing most of his right leg, and a massive piece of shrapnel protruding from the rest. He knows without further examination that it's gone through the antihero's femoral artery; he'll bleed out in minutes._

_"No... No, no, no, nonono." Dick kneels in the already forming puddle of blood, ripping apart his already shredded shirt for a tourniquet. "Help's on the way, Jay, just hold on. W-we'll get you back and-"_

_"Dick." The word is barely audible, but one look at Jason's face and Dick caves. It's a look of acceptance. Jason isn't an idiot. He knows what's coming._

_Dick drops the piece of cloth, kneeling closer to Jason's head. His fingers, gloves seared off by the explosion, drag slowly through the younger man's hard. Suddenly, his own gash seems insignificant._

_"Guess you can die the same way twice," Jason jokes lamely, his bitter laugh ruined by a harsh, wet cough._

_"Jason!" Dick attempts to sound scolding, but any authority is lost by a choking sob._

_Jason sobers back up again, a bloodied hand tracing along the acrobat's cheek. Dick clutches to the shaking fingers with desperation, tears streaming freely down his face as Jason tries to wipe them away._

_"Dick," he rasps softly, swallowing hard. "I need you to p-promise me something."_

_"Anything." The older man clamps his teeth into his lip to stop himself from bawling._

_"R-remember how you said that I-I was worth dying for? Th-that you'd die for me?"_

_Dick holds his breath, pain shooting through his heart as Jason refers to himself in the past tense._

_"I need you..." He sucks in a deep breath. "I need you to live for me now, yeah? D-Don't stop living, okay?"_

_Dick nods earnestly, grappling for words. "J-Jay-"_

_Anything he would've said is cut off by another series of wet coughs from Jason, and Dick slides an arm under the dying man's neck, squeezing his fingers._

_"D-Dick, I-I... I lo..." Jason coughs again, fingers going limp under Dick's grasp as his eyes struggle to stay focused._

_"You what?" Dick forces his voice not to break, frantically leaning in closer._

_Jason manages the faintest of smiles, mouthing the words, 'you know.' His eyes start to glass over, reflecting the fire only a few feet away_

_"NO!" Dick releases Jason's useless hand, pressing his hands to the younger man's cheeks. "No, you didn't finish! Say it again! S-say it again, Jason, please!"_

_His last breath is louder than any of the others, more of a rattling sigh than anything._

_"No! No, no Jason!" Tears drip onto Jason's cheeks as Dick shakes him. "Jason Peter Todd, don't you dare!" Sobs rack his body as he pulls the corpse into his arms. "I love you too... Please, please come back... I love you..."_

 

 

 

Dick sits bolt upright, covered in a cold sweat. His legs are shaky as he climbs out of bed and stumbles into the kitchen. He needs a glass of water.

_I need you to live for me now, yeah? D-don't stop living, okay?_

It had seemed stupid at the time, but now he realizes just how well Jason knew him.

There's a familiar form already in the kitchen, bent over the coffee maker. "You really need a new one of these. This is a piece of shit."

Dick smiles at the familiar, well-loved voice, opening a cabinet to grab a glass. "I'll put that on my list then."

The other man swears vehemently, muttering under his breath as he pulls a stool back from the tiny kitchen table. "How about you put food on your list then too? Moldy takeout doesn't really count."

Dick finishes getting his drink, sitting down across from him on the table. "Also on my list."

"And how about these?" His companion picks up a small, orange bottle of pills, rattling the contents.

Dick sets his glass down, finally dragging his eyes up to meet the other man's gaze. "I don't want them."

Jason sighs, setting the pill bottle down and leaning his elbows on the table. "Bruce isn't paying obscene amounts of money for you to get pills and not take them." The younger man gestures over to a cardboard box on the floor, filled to the brim with untouched pills.

"Jay, I'm not taking them. They'll make me go mad."

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Mad, yeah?"

Dick nods. "I took them once... They made you go away... Jason, I can't do that. I'll go crazy."

Jason sets his warm hand over Dick's. "Dick, you're holding a conversation at two in the morning with the hallucination of a guy who's dead two times over. How much crazier can you get?"

The older man almost winces at the bluntness. "Jason..."

The antihero sighs softly. "Dick, you promised me you'd live."

"I am living!" He protests. "Look!" He picks up Jason's bigger hand, placing it over his heart. "Living."

"You promised me to live," Jason says calmly. "Not exist."

Dick stands up, looking away. "Not now, Jay."

"Then when? Dick, your apartment is a wreck. It looks like a pigsty and you're probably growing five new breeds of mold. When was the last time you even left the house? When was the last time you ate?"

Dick chooses not to answer the latter question. Jason's here every day; he knows all these answers. "I had an appointment with my psychiatrist..."

"And when was that?"

"A month ago..."

Jason grabs his wrists. "Dick, you're falling apart. God only knows the last time you showered, you've got no muscle on you, and I can almost see your bones."

Dick turns away from him, staring at his bare feet. "Jason, I just..."

"Didn't you promise Tim and Damian that you'd eat at least one meal every other day?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you promised me you'd live. Dick, how many promises are you going to break?"

The older man pulls away, turning around. "That was low," he growls.

Jason sighs. "I know. I'm sorry. I just want the best for you, Dickiebird. That's all I've ever wanted."

"Then why the hell did you die!?" Dick shouts, grabbing his glass off the table and hurling it at Jason's head. The younger man ducks and the glass shatters against the wall, tinkling to the floor like chimes.

Dick drags his hands through his hair, shaking. "J-Jason, I didn't..."

The antihero's arms wind around him, hushing him softly. "It's okay."

"I'm not crazy," Dick mumbles, curling his hands into Jason's jacket. "I'm not crazy. Jason, tell me I'm not."

Jason gives a resigned sigh. "I love you too much to lie."

Dick bites his lip. "I love you too, Jason... Will you stay with me?"

"I can't imagine being anywhere else."


End file.
